Copper alloy



April 29, 1941. Q ANSELM] Y 2,240,202

COPPER ALLOY Filed July 25, 1959 Even/$02 Oar'Zo dinselmi- I cHZIZgsPatented Apr. 29, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COPPER. ALLOY CarloAnsehni, New York, N. Y. Application July 25, 1939, Serial No. 286,377 3Claims. (0675-159) I My invention relates to alloys particularly use-111 in situations where the article made of the same is subjected tosevere wear, corrosive action particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a. fragment of an internal combustionengine i I Fig. 2 is a diametrical vertical section of the valve portand seat according to Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale; and I Fig. 3 is a.perspective of the valve seat member according to Figs. 1 and 2.

No claim is made for the particular shape of the valve seat member shownin the drawing. It may, for example, be made in the form of the ring Ishown in the drawing, this ring having the tapered valve seating surface3 for cooperation with the puppet valve 5. The ring so constructed maybe secured in place by pressing it into the complementary annular recess1 about the upper edge portion of the valve port 9.

The alloy according to the invention is predominantly copper, andcontains requisite amounts of aluminum, nickel and iron to give with thenickel and aluminum imparts toughness andimproves the grain structureand wear resisting properties, the iron in such combination impartingsuch hardness to the alloy as makes it suitable for use as a valve seator for analogous use under high temperature conditions but withoutmaking the alloy brittle or deleteriously reducing its resistance tocorrosion. It has been found that by adding to copper these three metalswithin rather fairly critical ranges the resulting alloy will have theproperties mentioned, and further that it may be hot worked withoutfracture markedly to refine its grain and give it a structure which, ascompared to the cast alloy and to other alloys, is very fineand dense,such structure rendering it susceptible of taking a high finish andparticularly suitable for use in situations where it is to make a tightfit with another part asis the case with a. valve seating surface.

The above properties adapting the alloy for structure.

use in the situations mentioned will be secured with, approximately, 8to 11% aluminum, 0.5 to 1.5% nickel, and 0.1 to 0.7% iron provided theamount of nickel is at least twice the amount of iron. A particularlyuseful alloy according to the invention consists of, approximately, 9 to10% aluminum, 1% nickel, and 0.25% iron.

The above' alloys after being cast may 7 be preliminarily hot worked byextrusion or other hot working, followed by hot pressing or forging, forrefining their grain and securing a fine dense The hot forging orpressing operation may involve making the blank for the ring-shapedvalve seatmember, which blank niay be finished by a machining operationto secure' a smooth surface suitable for a valve seat. The valve seat soconstructed is highly resistant to the corrosive and pitting effects ofthe high temperature exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, andmarkedly resists fracture and wear tended to be caused by the hammeringof the valve on such seat.

Small amounts of manganese, say up to 1%,

,but preferably not over 0.5%, may be added to of sulphur, which isparticularly objectionable with an alloy containing nickel. Smallamounts of other metals also may be added for imparting additionalproperties to the alloy or for modifying those hereinbefore mentioned,or may exist as impurities, so long as they do not materially eliminatethe valuable properties obtained by the combination of copper, aluminum,nickel and iron, and in this sense' the alloy according-to the inventionconsists essentially of that combination within'the ranges andproportions above mentioned.

Iclaim:

- 1. an alloy consisting essentially of, approximately, aluminum 8 to11%, nickel .0.5 to 1.5%, iron 0.1 to 0.7%, copper balance, theamount'of nickel being at leasttwice the amount of iron.

2. An alloy consistingessentially of. approximately, aluminum 9 to 10%,nickel 1%. iron 0.25%. copper balance.

of iron.

' CARLO ANSELMI.

